Girls in STEM (6)

Jennette Arnold: What opportunities are there within the GLA Group for young women Londoners to start their careers in STEM?

The Mayor: There are a number of initiatives across the GLA group to promote careers in STEM to young women Londoners and to provide opportunities to young women. Examples include:
TfL
The Early Years Team at TfL currently have a target school list of 250 schools across London, roughly 30 per cent of which are all girls’ schools. Interventions with these schools include apprenticeship talks, career insight panels, and career fairs. The team have run three Technology & Data Insight sessions this term, with students from their target schools attending from Years 9 to 12. Fifty per cent of attendees were female students and for next term they will be focusing on promoting these sessions at all girls’ schools.
TfL also work with a range of charities and organisations to reach more females to encourage STEM careers. This has also created more volunteering and mentoring opportunities for employees across TfL allowing them to reach more young women through different schools and networks. This includes their work with Inspiring the Future, The Prince’s Trust Mosaic, STEM Learning/STEM ambassadors, The Enterprise Adviser Network and Action for Tutoring.
TfL have also had 43 schools participate in the Innovate Schools Challenge 2020. Ten of these schools were Girls schools and they had 59 per cent female participation, a 12 per cent increase compared to last year. Of the 17 finalists offered work experience with TfL, 13 were female.
TfL also offer a range of apprenticeship schemes and some graduate schemes in engineering, technology and business. They promote these through early year interventions and through launch events, site visits, careers events and their route into work programme.
LLDC
The LLDC is using the physical development of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) and the wider area to create opportunities for local residents and those from under-represented groups, including young women, to improve their skills and secure sustainable employment in STEM related roles in key economic growth sectors.
For example, over 240 young people have benefitted from apprenticeships in Construction and the Built Environment on the Park to date, of which 14% were women (above the industry average). In addition, 147 people have benefitted from digital, tech and cultural sector-related employer-led skills training, 72% of whom were women. Over 130 young women participated in STEM careers workshops as part of the East Works Careers programme.
Other initiatives which provide educational, training and skills opportunities for young people and under-represented groups include the QEOP Construction Training Association and associated Design…Engineer…Construct built environment course, and a 3D and virtual reality skills academy in collaboration with Hobs 3D.
LLDC also supports local under-represented groups into STEM careers through the EAST Education programme and East Summer School, which to date have engaged over 300 young people aged 13 – 16 from east London with STEM-based courses including engineering, drone design, coding and architecture.
LFC
The London Fire Brigade has a dedicated STEM Ambassador, Lynsey Seal. Along with her full-time role as Principal Fire Engineer, Lynsey gives her time to STEM outreach events, in particular focussing on getting more women and girls into engineering.
GLA
The GLA offers a range of paid work placement opportunities which target people at different stages of their career, including apprenticeships (apprenticeship or advanced apprenticeship in Business Administration, Finance or Housing), Higher Apprenticeships (Project Management) and Internships.
Since May 2016, 15 of these have been linked to Science (Environmental) and three advanced apprenticeships to Maths (in Finance). Of these, 10 of the appointees were female.
The London Enterprise Adviser Network (LEAN)
LEAN, which is funded by the Greater London Authority and the Careers & Enterprise Company, matches senior business volunteers with careers leaders in schools and colleges. They then work in partnership to increase business engagement so that all young people, regardless of their backgrounds, can encounter different businesses and opportunities and visit a variety of workplaces. The LEAN is currently working with 430 schools and colleges in London.
The LEAN is working with TfL to support their staff to volunteer. There are currently 30 Enterprise Advisers (senior business volunteers) from TfL, 12 of whom are women. TfL are supporting these volunteers to share information about the variety of STEM and career opportunities available at TfL. The Head of the Mayor’s Digital Talent Programme at City Hall is also an Enterprise Adviser.
OPDC
To deliver their mission, their work is organised across four Directorates, Planning, Delivery, Corporate Operations and the Chief Executive’s Office. At the moment,they do not have any STEM opportunities, but may in the future, as the project progresses.